Where It Shined Upon You Last
by Cazzie
Summary: After Amy and Rory leave the Tardis for the last time, the Doctor pays a visit to Augustus and Tabetha Pond. Based on speculation for series 7, so possible spoilers.


**Title**: Where it Shined Upon You Last

**Author**: Cazzie (a-bitey-mad-lady on Tumblr)

**Summary**: After Amy and Rory leave the Tardis for the last time, the Doctor pays a visit to Augustus and Tabetha Pond.

**Rating**: K+

**Spoilers**: Based on speculation for series 7 and the knowledge of which monsters are involved in the Ponds last episode.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this now?"

"I have to. They... they deserve to know."

The Doctor stood outside the familiar house he'd first seen so many years ago, his wife by his side, a large book in his hands and tears gathering in his eyes once again. He knew he had to do this, but that didn't make it any easier.

Slowly he made his way up the path and knocked on the front door.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Tabetha Pond smiled politely.

"Mrs Pond? I'm the Doctor."

"Oh." Recognition flooded her face and her previous polite manner turned to wariness, "You're Amelia's friend."

"Yes."

"Amelia isn't here. She lives with her husband now. Rory. I'm sure you met him at the wedding."

"Yes... I know." The Doctor closed his eyes. Apparently there was a lot Amy hadn't shared with her mother. That could make this even more difficult. "I came to see you actually. I have something to tell you."

"What?" Tabetha didn't make any move to invite them in.

"I'd prefer to speak to you and your husband together. This is important. It's about Amy."

Tabetha frowned but stepped aside, allowing the Doctor and River to enter. She directed them to the living room before leaving to find her husband.

A few minutes later the four were settled on two sofas and silence hung in the air until River spoke up.

"It's nice to meet you both. I'm River Song."

There was no hint of recognition in either of their eyes at the name.

"Nice to meet you too," Tabetha nodded, "Now, what was the news about Amelia? Is she all right?"

The Doctor took a deep breath and looked up, "Yes. Well, sort of. She's ok, but she... I'm afraid she won't be coming home."

"What?" Tabetha looked scared now, "You're not making sense. Why isn't she coming home? What's happened?"

"She..." The Doctor paused and Tabetha's gaze immediately narrowed in on him.

"She's not ok, is she? You're lying to me. Is she... oh god, is she...?" The idea was too much to bear, but a glance at the Doctor's face was all the confirmation she needed. "She's dead, isn't she?"

Silent up until now, Augustus gripped his wife's hand tightly, "Now Tabetha, don't jump to conclusions. I'm sure the Doctor would have told us..." He trailed off at the glance exchanged between his visitors.

"I'm so sorry," the Doctor looked down at the object in his hands and back up again, "But I want you to know that she lived a full and happy life."

"She's 24, you bastard!" Tabetha jumped to her feet, looming over the Doctor threateningly as tears chocked her words, "Don't you dare tell me she lived a full life."

"I'm sure she must have told you about me, about the fact that I travel in time." The Doctor continued as calmly as he could as Augustus tugged on his wife's hand to pull her down on the sofa next to him again. "She joined me, her and Rory. We travelled together. It was on our latest trip that we had an... incident."

He looked at the two faces in front of him and realised that this was not the time for painful details. "Rory was sent back in time. He was trapped; I couldn't save him, even with time travel of my own. There was nothing I could do. But Amy could join him. It was her decision, completely her own."

Augustus and Tabetha remained silent as the Doctor handed over the large book he'd been carrying. "She wanted you to have this."

Slowly, with shaking hands, Tabetha took the book. She opened the first page and realised it was a photo album. Staring up at her in black and white were Amy and Rory, looking just as she remembered the last time she had seen them.

As each page turned more pictures appeared. She watched her daughter's hair grow and suddenly cut short before lengthening again. She saw lines appear on both their faces. Their clothes changed with the fashions and the appearance of colour photographs made the grey in Rory's hair unmistakable. Amy retained her fiery red until much later, but eventually hers began to turn as well.

Near the end of the book Tabetha paused on a picture of an elderly couple. She might not have recognised them, if not for seeing their lives progress before her very eyes. They were sitting side by side, smiles on their faces, looking for all the world as happy and content as two people could be.

The next page held the last photograph. The woman by herself, her grey hair and wrinkled face still the same but the smile was gone. As was the sparkle in her eyes.

"That was taken just after Rory died. And just before she did." The Doctor's quiet voice broke the hushed stillness that had fallen over the room. "They're buried in Greenwood Cemetery if you'd like to visit them."

Tabetha gripped the sides of the photo album fiercely, tears now falling freely down her face.

"Get out."

"I'm sorry. I..."

"I said get out!" Tabetha screamed, still clutching the album like she couldn't decide if it was the most precious thing in the world or the most painful.

"Come on." River spoke quietly, pulling the Doctor to the door. "They need time."

The last thing the Doctor saw as he left was Augustus and Tabetha clinging to each other, the sound of their cries echoing loudly in his ears.

...

Two weeks later, the Tardis took him to Greenwood Cemetery. As he approached the graves he knew so well he saw the two figures already standing there.

Coming up alongside them he could see their eyes were red, their faces still wet with tears.

He stood silently for a few moments, not acknowledging the pair, waiting for them to say something.

"You said she was happy? Please tell me, honestly. Was she happy?" Tabetha asked in a strained voice, leaning against her husband.

"She was with Rory." The Doctor smiled, "I don't think she could have been happier."

* * *

_But sometimes I will ask the moon_

_Where it shined upon you last_

_And shake my head and laugh and say_

_It all went by so fast_

- Dar Williams 'The One Who Knows'


End file.
